Structure: the Double Edged Sword

Many ADD entrepreneurs thrive on the fact that they can work on growing their business without all of the structure of being employed by someone else. While the structure of a 9 to 5 job might not be ideal for an ADD adult, an ADD entrepreneur should establish some structure and boundaries in order to be successful with their business opportunities and their personal lives. Here are just a couple of examples of structure and boundaries that an ADD entrepreneur should establish:

1. Keeping your personal finances and your business finances separate.

The larger your business is, the more important it is to separate your finances.  Not only is it important for tax purposes, but recording all of your business transactions will give you or someone else all of the information necessary to analyze how well you are doing, and what you need to do to expand your business.

2. Set aside a regular time to pay your bills and to bill your customers.

I find that a lot of ADD entrepreneurs are more reluctant to bill their customers on a regular basis. The main reason is that they are so focused on pleasing the customer, that they don't focus on actually getting paid for a job. In order to develop a habit, you should decide on a regular set time that you are going to focus on sending out your invoice and paying the bills.

3. Schedule time and/or days each week where you not allowed to do anything related to your business.

In order to be a successful entrepreneur you need to spend a lot of time on your business.  It is easy for an ADD entrepreneur to completely focus on their business and not focus on their other needs like eating properly, sleeping, physical activity, and spending time with friends and family. Without spending a little time on other areas of your life your will burnout or breakdown.

Comments

[Gerard Montigny]

Hello John

Wow, all I can say is this is a great post and a timely one. New Year's is a major transition time in terms of ending of one cycle and the beginning of a new one, and for me personally this means a good time to set goals (a.k.a. resolutions). One of my main resolutions for this coming year is to put more concerted focus and energy into my business and that of course means managing commitments and implementing appropriate structures. Reading this article really gave me an opportunity to jumpstart my thinking on what I need to have in place for this goal to happen.

One thing which I found particularly of interest was the notion that individuals with ADHD sometimes neglect self-care in order to meet deadlines. I know in my case this is a lack of structure issue, one that results from a combination of looming deadlines and strong hyperfocus.

Anyhow, this was a great article thanks for getting me thinking.

Gerard